[R-G] Germany appoints special Afghanistan envoy

[Anthony Fenton]

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0,,12215_cid_4033155,00.html?maca=en-en_nr-1893-xml-atom

Germany appoints special Afghanistan envoy

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has appointed a  
special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The foreign ministry said  
Bernd Mützelburg would be tasked with intensifying diplomatic efforts  
in the region. The 65-year-old diplomat will quit his post as  
ambassador to India to take on his new duties. The United States had  
reportedly asked for a German official to concentrate on moves to  
solve the growing crisis in Afghanistan and Pakistan and to liase with  
Washington's special envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke. German  
media said the appointment of Mützelburg caused some political  
friction in Berlin because the foreign ministry did not coordinate its  
move with the chancellery of Angela Merkel.